Family is losing its functions Essay

Using material from feature 2B and elsewhere assess the view that, in todays club the family is losing its functions. As stated in Item 2B, the family fulfils a number of consequential functions for individuals and for family, such as the socialisation of children and the stabilisation of adult personalities. However, some sociologists purport that, in todays ships company, the family is losing its importance as these functions are being taken over by other foundation garments for example, nurseries have an increasingly important authority in the socialisation of young children whose parents are work full-time. Functionalists see the family as a particularly important sub-system they believe that the nuclear family is a key institution as it looks basic needs. Murdock (1949) argues that the family performs four essential functions to meet the needs of society and its members. Firstly, they offer economic oblige to provide the children with either the fundamental necessiti es they require in life e.g. food, shelter and water.They too give a stable satisfaction of the sex drive with the equivalent partner, making their partner feel more dear and secure, as salutary as reducing the chances of acquire STDs. Another purpose is reproduction of the next generation, without which society could not continue. Further to this, it also provides the child with 2 role models and so, they will feel more safeguarded of having some(prenominal) parents. Lastly, it socialises the young into societys shared norms and values- without this, society would suffer from negative impacts e.g. feral children. A literary criticism to Murdocks study is that it is out-dated, many sociologists argue that society has now changed and these functions can be performed equally well by other institutions, or by non-nuclear family structures.Marxists and Feminists get rid of his rose-tinted consensus view that the family meets the needs of both wider society and all the members of t he family. They argue that functionalists dont review victimisation and conflict within society. Marxists argue that the family maintains class discrepancy and capitalism and so, the functions of the family are performed purely for the benefit of the capitalist system. They do not see the nuclear family in the same way as functionalists and believe that they snub the dark side